1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a presence monitoring system. More particularly, this invention relates to an electronic escape notification system used alone or in association with an animal containment system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of animal husbandry, it has long been a concern for containing animals within a given boundary, and for identifying when an animal has left such boundary. This is true whether the animals are pets confined within a given bounded area or the animals are livestock. Animals have typically been confined in fenced enclosures, with various types of fences. Above-ground fences have been adapted to include behavioral modification devices such as electrically charged wires, barbed-wire, or otherwise adapted to deter an animal from crossing.
More recently, electronic animal containment systems have been used as an alternative to conventional fencing to keep animals from straying. In these systems, a loop antenna is buried along the perimeter of the area in which the animal is to be contained. The animal is fitted with a device for generating a corrective signal in one of various conventional forms, the device and the antenna working cooperatively such that when the animal approaches the boundary, a warning and/or a corrective signal is sent to the animal.
A global positioning systems (GPS) has also been used to define the boundaries of a selected area. In such a system, the position of the animal(s) to be confined is constantly monitored to determine if and when the animal crosses a boundary. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,271,757 issued to Touchton et al., an electronic containment system using positional satellites is disclosed. The Touchton et al., system is provided for controlling the movement of animals relative to a selected confinement area. A portable programming transceiver is used to program the boundary of a selected confinement area as the device is moved along such boundary. A programmable collar transceiver worn by the animal provides GPS signals from the satellite to a remotely located control station. The control station tracks the movement of the animal relative to the boundary. If the animal crosses the boundary, the station transmits a stimulus activation signal to the collar so that a corrective stimulus may be produced for the animal. Tracking and containment of objects are accomplished by providing GPS-defined, user-programmable containment areas.
To this extent, animals have the potential to escape from any fencing system, e.g., digging underneath a conventional fence or ignoring the correction of the electronic animal containment system. If an animal leaves the containment area, there is typically not a mechanism whereby the animal may casually reenter a containment area bounded by conventional fencing or avoid a deterrent stimulus when attempting to reenter a containment area bounded by an electronic animal containment system. Both the physical barrier resulting from conventional fencing and the virtual barrier created by the corrective stimuli of an electronic animal containment system serve to discourage the escaped animal from returning to the containment area.
In the event that an animal escapes from a bounded area, it is important that the owner or caregiver be able to quickly discern such escape. This is both for the safety of the animal as well as that of property, persons, and other animals outside the bounded area. Typically, the animal owners or caregivers rely on identification worn on the animal and the assistance of others who find the animal. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. Patents and Patent Application Publications:
U.S.Pat. No./application Ser. No.Inventor(s)Issue Date5,454,350S. M. BetheilOct. 3, 19955,752,335K. Shimogori et al.May 19, 19985,877,742J. KlinkMar. 2, 19995,955,953M. C. Hanson et al.Sep. 21, 19996,003,473R. L. PrintzDec. 21, 19996,067,018J. M. Skelton et al.May 23, 20006,283,065J. E. Shorrock et al.Sep. 4, 20016,502,060L. M. ChristianDec. 31, 20026,568,354D. J. Wasserman et al.May 27, 20036,721,681L. M. Christian et al.Apr. 13, 20042002/0135487M. BowlingSep. 26, 20022003/0118979G. S. AxelrodJun. 26, 20032003/0229452B. S. Lewis et al.Dec. 11, 20032005/0242137M. T. Fishman et al.Nov. 3, 20052006/0011144L. KatesJan. 19, 20062006/0011145L. KatesJan. 19, 20062006/0011146L. KatesJan. 19, 2006
Of these patents, the '350 patent issued to Betheil discloses an electronic dialing attachment is adapted to be secured to a pet collar or other band member worn by a pet. The attachment includes a holder body having a channel for receiving a programmable dialing element. The dialing element is programmable to store a telephone dialing sequence corresponding to the telephone number of the owner of the pet and is detachably coupled to the holder body. If the pet is lost, the dialing element is adapted to be detached from the holder body and positioned near the handset of a telephone by the finder of the lost pet.
Shimogori et al., in the '335 patent, disclose a “talking” pet tag for association with a pet wherein a prerecorded message is easily retrievable by the finder of a lost pet by simply depressing a play button.
The '742 device disclosed by Klink is a medical identification bracelet which has electronic circuitry to display detailed, patient medical information. The bracelet is formatted using a programming station into which is entered up to 16 kilobits of medical and personal information about an individual. The programming station transfers the formatted information to the bracelet via an infrared interface device. The medical identification bracelet has an LCD view screen which displays, in a scrolling fashion, data when a button is pushed. All information is available at the display.
In the '953 patent issued to Hanson et al., an article to be worn with an identification unit mounted thereon is disclosed. The identification unit includes a speaker for transmitting audio signals. Further included is a message playback switch for transmitting a playback signal and a message record switch for transmitting a record signal. The identification unit further includes a sound module adapted to store an audio message including a name of the pet and at least one of an address and a phone number upon the receipt of the record signal. The sound module further serves to playback the audio message upon the receipt of the playback signal.
In his '473 patent, Printz discloses a pet identification and retrieval device for providing information regarding a lost pet to an individual who finds the pet. The '473 device includes a front half enclosure and rear half enclosure. The front half enclosure contains a play switch, a speaker opening and a low battery indicator. The rear half enclosure contains a recessed recording switch, a permanent identification plate, and a fastening means. The device is connected to a pet's collar via a swivel link or is held stationary against the collar by other fastening means. A message is recorded using solid state digital recording and playback technology, which permits a 30-second message to be recorded.
The '018 patent issued to Skelton et al., discloses a lost pet notification system which includes three elements: a pet collar for automatically activating an alarm once the pet becomes lost; a portable hand held unit for continually monitoring the location of the pet; and a base station for automatically transmitting a signal to the owner once the portable unit determines that the pet is lost. The pet collar continually receives a polling signal from the portable unit while the pet is within transmission range of the portable unit. In response to each polling signal, the pet collar transmits a reply signal to the portable unit. Once the polling signal can no longer be detected by the pet collar, the pet collar automatically activates an alarm. In addition, the portable unit activates an alarm and also transmits a notification signal to the base station. Once the notification signal is received, a the base station automatically places a telephone call to the predetermined telephone number and plays the associated message to alert the pet owner that the pet is lost. If the pet comes back within the transmission range of the portable unit, the portable unit transmits a second notification signal to the base unit which places a second call to the owner to notify him or her that their pet is safe. Skelton et al., further disclose that the '018 device may also include features such as a paging unit for receiving information, a global positioning device, a RF beacon transmitter, and cellular telephone emulator to transmit information to a monitoring station.
Shorrock et al., in their '065 patent, disclose a collar stud attachable to an animal collar to function as a tag, collar lock, and/or electronic identification device. The stud includes a cap positionable adjacent an exterior of the collar and a base that is positionable adjacent an interior surface of the collar. A linkage interconnects the cap and base in a spaced apart fashion to allow a portion of the collar to be sandwiched between the interconnected cap and base. At least a portion of the linkage extends through an aperture of the collar portion and helps secure the stud to the collar portion. In one embodiment, a transponder is incorporated into the stud, the transponder including a memory for storing an identification code. The code can be used to access a corresponding data record in a database.
The '060 patent issued to Christian discloses a chronometer for monitoring the age of a dog. The chronometer is further provided with identification information regarding the dog. The '060 device is attachable to a dog collar. Additional data, displays, and information may be carried, manipulated, entered and chosen by the use of user control buttons or the like.
Wasserman et al., in their '354 patent, disclose a pet identification tag with an electronic display for displaying pet owner identification information when activated. Pertinent information for the pet can be displayed. The pet identification tag is mountable on a dog or cat collar.
The '681 patent issued to Christian et al., discloses a chronometric identification and location tag for an animal, such as a dog, that incorporates a variety of detection and sensing functions as well as communication capacities. Assembled in a compact form that allows ready transport on a trainable animal, such as a dog, the chronometer identification and location tag enables the location of the associated animal, as well as the transmission and reception of information and data. Specific embodiments include the use of GPS to provide location data, as well as an alternative location system using temporary or permanent antenna installations. Hazardous material, visual, and acoustic detectors and other sensors and/or generators may be used in conjunction with transmission facilities for providing data regarding the animal's environment. Information and signals may be transmitted to the central controller by a receiver and a speaker can provide for audio signaling to the animal or others close to the animal in an audible range of the speaker.
Similar to the Printz device discussed above, the Bowling device disclosed in the '487 application is directed toward a portable, self-contained identification system including a base and a removable lid operatively and sealingly engageable with the base. The removable lid and the base cooperate to form a sealed enclosure when the removable lid is engaged with the base. A recording device includes a record microphone and a record switch and the playback device includes a speaker and a playback switch. The recording switch is manually actuated to record the message and a playback switch is actuated by the depression and the release of the playback button, such that the playback switch is automatically actuated by removal of the removable lid to playback the message.
Axelrod, in the '979 application, discloses a method and apparatus for providing textual, audio and/or video information regarding a pet to a user comprising supplying an electronic database which database has stored textual, audio and/or video information data files representative of the pet's behavior, identification, characteristics and the like. Although not illustrated, Axelrod teaches the use of a portable electronic device having a video display, an audio output, input controls and a database. Axelrod refers to the '979 device as electronic book specifically for educational purposes related to selecting, training and caring for animals.
Lewis et al., in their '452 application, disclose various systems and methods for integrating, managing and using electronic and tangible data relating to animals, especially data corresponding to official documentation. A secure, centralized repository for storing animal characteristic information, owner information, health information, official status information and the like is provided that may be used by a multiplicity of different user classes. Tangible counterparts of the electronic data also are provided, including documentation as well as fixtures that may be attached to an animal. A unique animal identification code is stored in the database and preferably appears on the tangible counterparts. The code serves as a primary key with respect to an animal's electronic records and allows records to be easily associated with a particular animal.
In their '137 application, Fishman et al., disclose an information case for protectively storing information related to an individual. The case includes a base having a cavity defined therein. The cavity is configured to store and protect an information-bearing medium on which the information related to the individual can be disposed. As disclosed by Fishman et al., the information is written or printed on the selected medium.
Kates, in his '144, '145 and '146 applications, discloses a computer-aided training and management system that uses a computer or other processor in wireless communication with an instrumented dog collar and/or optionally, one or more dog interaction devices. In one embodiment, the instrumented dog collar is in two-way communication with a central computer system.